Showing posts with label sick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sick. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Homebodying

It feels like ages have gone by.  Aren't we all excited for Fall?  There's a certain crispness to the air, especially in the evenings, and I know my mood is improving.  It helps that so far things are now bug-free, and I had a nice Scottish break, and I'm feeling rather caught up in my life (as in, no huge to-do list at the moment.) 

So a quick trip rundown for you.  The beginning part in London was a little stressful, with nine people in one apartment and lots of luggage to be buried under, but once we escaped to the Scottish hills I felt so relaxed and at one with nature.  I loved the view out of our lodge, too!  The best part of the whole wedding was the Scottish dancing, though, called CĂ©ilidh (prounounced kay-lee).  There were set steps that the band would teach us and then call out, and our new friend (aka the groom's friend from home) Kevin asked me to dance the first dance so he taught me the steps, too -- it was so fun and twirly!  Like that scene in Titanic when they're dancing in steerage.  Plus it was the first time a boy has ever asked me to dance!  (Obviously it wasn't anything scandalous, don't worry.)  Kevin and I danced like four of them together, and in between those I danced with Jude (the girl groomsman) for one, a girl named Haley, and with a 10-year-old Scottish boy , and with one of the best men John (he was so drunk I just pushed him around the twirls.  I'm glad he didn't puke on me.)  And though I drank all day, I didn't feel particularly drunk OR hungover the next day because of all the exercise. :)  It was thrilling.

On the flight home, I started coughing, and felt pretty under the weather that first weekend back, but I felt better by Tuesday, I just haven't been able to shake the cough (even now).  I finally called the doctor today to make an appointment for tomorrow, since just when I thought it was getting better yesterday, it's gotten a bit worse.  Might as well make sure I don't have the Contagion, especially since people at work are refusing to sit next to me now.  And this past Monday night I had a sudden and sharp pain in my right ankle, and it's a bit swollen.  I think a summer of mostly wearing flip flops has caught up to me!  I wore sneakers to work today and kept them on, and it's already feeling a ton better.  I just feel like I'm falling apart in general, but hey, when do I not?

I haven't smoked since the Saturday after I returned from the UK.  I knew I wouldn't be able to re-quit before then, since we'd be drinking and smoking a ton there, but now that I'm home and having trouble breathing anyway, it hasn't been so bad.  That means it's been 11 days -- almost two weeks!  I'm sucking on the nicotine lozenges plus Cepacol throat lozenges, sometimes both at once (one in each cheek), and it's not been as hard as expected.  I'm sure hard times will come, but for now, I don't think about it too much.  Shoot, except now I am.  MOVING ON.

Hike started his MBA classes while I was gone, and he's got two on Monday evenings, two on Wednesday evenings, and one from 9 - 1 on Saturdays.  It's a lot, and he has a lot of reading and homework to do, but I think he's getting it down.  In the beginning I was worried about his organizational level, especially since I am The Queen of being organized and also Very Bossy, so we were bickering a bit, but it seems like he's getting into the swing of things and I'm trying to step back a little, too.  (He likes my help and advice, but obviously I need to be nice about it.)  It is still stressful, but hopefully we can figure out a workable lifestyle for the next few years.  I think we're close now, actually. 

I've also started casually looking at one-bedroom apartment listings in Astoria.  After traveling and having my own bathroom for a blessed four days in Scotland, I just sort of came home and craved more space for myself.  I knew I wanted to move sometime this winter anyway, but now I'm considering moving out sooner and then Hike would join me when he's ready and able and when we're ready to be engaged.  At first I was hesitant to proceed this way since I don't want him to feel like he's moving in to MY home, but on the other hand, it'd be good for me to live alone for awhile, plus he'll be there a ton anyway (he's already at my place a lot as it is), and I doubt he'd be as sensitive about moving into my place than if the situation were reversed.  He likes this plan because it means we're progressing but it gives him a little flexibility to figure out his timing, too.  So now the question is, when? 

I went to one open house on Monday, but the kitchen was just on a wall in the LR and I need it in a separate room so that I don't stink up the main room with garlic/cooking smells plus make all that noise of washing dishes, etc.  I am going to another one tomorrow night, and Hike may come with me so we can start feeling things out together (though he likes my taste, as he's said), but if I like it, I'm still in a tight spot.  My roommate's Dad isn't doing very well health-wise, and she was planning on going to visit him in Florida for a few weeks at the beginning of October.  After over five years together, I'd feel like a dick if I surprised her by announcing my intention to move out in 15 days while she was already planning to travel.  So that's a consideration -- but I still think it's OK to look at places.  I'm just half scared I'll like one, you know?  But also THRILLED about the concept.

OH, and just to vent for a minute -- I'm looking mainly on Craigslist, since how else do we find apartments nowadays?  Sometimes I'll go to a realtor's site from their Craigslist posting and find other options, but I still hate the whole broker's fee situation.  Anyway, there are so many posts for Astoria that don't say WHERE the place is in the neighborhood, or they'll say an avenue but not the street.  This makes a HUGE difference, so obviously I'm not going to respond to them since I feel like they're trying to pull some bullshit, but what if they're stupid and I'm missing a good apartment?  Ugh, I guess when I'm looking more seriously I can investigate those further, but come on.  We want to be somewhere between 30th and 36th Aves, and Crescent and 37th Streets, so work with us, Craigslisters.

And finally, I just bought my first Christmas present today.  I guess it could be a one-year anniversary present for Hike, but it doesn't seem very romantic.  HOT TIP -- you can buy Always Sunny in Philadelphia seasons 1-5 PLUS the Christmas Special on Amazon for like $48.  Buy it for someone special in your life.  You're welcome.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Sweet Little Apathy

Oh no, it's been a week since my last post!  Work was pretty busy until today, so I haven't had as much internet time as I'd like.  Let's catch up.

Last weekend was very lovely if a little quiet, as Hike was suffering from a cold/cough situation.  Friday night he had plans with friends and I had scheduled my facial, which was amazing and relaxing and the only problem was that I had to pee after about an hour, and there was no easy way to get up and excuse myself, since I was covered in a mask and various towels.  So I loved it, but I decided that next time I'm going to discuss with Crystal beforehand (yes, that's my Irish lass' name.  I love her.) and have a bathroom break planned.  Then I won't be distracted while relaxing.  Crystal also talked to me about how Proactiv is not good for your skin as it's made from harmful chemicals and it's addictive, and no matter what when you stop using it, you break out for at least 6 weeks.  Which means you'll never stop because you'll think you still need it.  I decided to try and wean myself off of it, since I tried to quit using it before and had that exact experience.  I'll try to wait it out, and if I keep breaking out excessively after a certain amount of time, I can use it again, but hey, while I'm quitting all sorts of chemicals, why not pick another?  Though it'll take awhile till I stop using it entirely, as I'm going to slowly use up the stuff I already have at home.

ANYWAY, then Hike came over later and we watched more Fraggle Rock (which is NOT a euphemism, though that is an entertaining thought), and then Saturday I relaxed in the afternoon and at night we went to eat at Cafe Bar in Astoria (terrible name) and I had Pumpkin Ravioli in this tomato mushroom sauce that was really good, and then we saw The King's Speech.  YOU GUYS, I've now seen all of the Oscar-nominated movies except Toy Story 3 (which I have at home from Netflix now) and Winter's Bone, which I don't know if I want to see.  I've never been so caught up!  Anyway, The King's Speech was great and heartwarming and I liked it a lot, but I think I still would pick True Grit as my favorite.  Sunday we watched Emma, his pick, as he'd just finished reading the book on his Kindle, since classics are free.  It was nice and nostalgic, since I hadn't seen that movie since Britch and I would watch it at slumber parties in high school.  The rest of Sunday I watched Toy Story 2 (to get up to speed) and got stuff done around the house.

Monday night was Harpie dinner, and the theme was McDonald's updated and a little Russian, in honor of the 20th anniversary of the first McDonald's to open in Moscow.  Everyone had great ideas, from Chicken Nugget apps with Russian dressing to a Mickey D's salad to cokes with vanilla vodka in McD cups to our individually-wrapped desserts of Russian tea cookies!  And I made a hamburger pie.  Yum.  We also played Apples to Apples and got silly and laughed a ton.  I realized later that I am no longer coughing when I laugh really hard -- yay! 

Tuesday was mellow and catching up on home stuff, and then last night my roomie gave us tickets to see Colin Quinn's Broadway show.  We went to the Red Lobster in Times Square beforehand, since Hike's mom had given him a gift certificate for Christmas and told him to take me, plus who doesn't love a RL, amiright?  Anyway, we had a big caloric dinner, then rambled around Toys R Us until showtime, and the show was hilarious.  Then a taxi home!

It's been a good week, but I've been fighting a splitting headache since Tuesday night, and that's very unusal for me.  I'm wondering if it's sinus-related, since my nose is slightly stuffy and today I'm a bit hoarse, but it's not like full-blown sick, so I can't justify staying home.  I took Tylenol all day yesterday and felt better by the evening, and then woke up this morning before the alarm in lots of pain again, so I took two Tylenol and two Ibuprofin, and that'll be my regimen today.  I also feel sort of disoriented, so I'm looking forward to crawling into bed after work this evening.  I was saying how I wanted to get sick so I could have a day off of work, but I don't want to get medium sick!  That benefits no one.  Lame.

Anyyyyway, starting next week I'm going to try and be healthier again with my eating habits.  I've been lax for these first few weeks of not smoking, but I can feel the weight gain now (I'm at 138 as of yesterday) and I don't like it, so I need to buckle down again.  Which means this week I'm eating lots o' junk while I can.  So what who cares? 

I also ordered two different pairs of rain/snow boots since my pair with owls on them has been compromised with some cracks -- it makes sense considering I bought them last year for $20, and those things have about a year or less of usage, not to mention how often I've worn them this winter.  My plan is to try both new pairs on and compare, but I think I'll have a hard time deciding!  Check them out.


Wendy

Haa since they've sold out of that last pair, I can only view the tiny thumbnail, but they're black with a silver branch design.

Well, I guess that is all the big news.  Oh, I did pick out a bridesmaid's dress for Britch's August wedding, and while I don't know yet if Hike will be able to join me, he's changed his grad school intentions slightly and that may mean he's free the last week of August!  We'll see, but I hope I don't have to attend a romantic Scottish castle wedding alone...  I'm trying not to worry about it, but you know me, friends.  The potential for messed-up plans stresses me out. 

That said, I'm way too worried and anxious lately for no good reason (except maybe nicotine withdrawal) so I'm trying to recite this mantra while breathing to calm myself down:  Breathing in I relax my body, breathing out I relax my mind.  You know, just anything to stop the incessant crazy that happens in my head.

Andddd it's almost Valentine's Day!  I'm so confused about how to handle the present portion.  Do we buy presents?  Do we talk about it beforehand so we're on the same page?  Is a card adequate, with some small token plus a romantic dinner?  What do I do? 

Breath in, breath out.

Friday, September 10, 2010

If all the ifs and buts were candy and nuts, what a wonderful Christmas it would be.

Happy Friday!  And for those of you who still work in publishing, happy first full-length Friday since Memorial Day!  I'm sorry for your loss.

I'm still Snuffleupagus and even Sneezier today...I'm their love child.

+

But screw going home and going to bed after work!  I'm SICK OF IT, and also, bored.  Tonight I'm going to Schmillie's for Mending Night, which is a replacement for Henna Night, ever since some wackadoo told Schmillie that henna is bad for your hair.  (Impossible, I say.)  But it's really just an excuse to eat lots of food, drink lots of wine, wear comfy pants and maybe try on swimsuits.  I think Mending Night will probably involve less hanging out in the bathtub, but what do I know?  That's also the smoking room, if I remember correctly.  Oh, and Schmillie has a sewing machine, so we'll be mending some random summer frocks that I bought discounted and proceeded to rip/break pretty quickly.  Maybe one will become a skirt or something, too.  It should be entertaining, and I can't wait.

I was reflecting last night about what I said at the beginning of the summer -- that the summer would be for FUN and then in the fall, I'd more seriously consider online dating, since I do want to find someone.  And let's be honest, most of the people I meet are at bars and not really the type to stick around, you know?  The summer hasn't been quite as "fun" in the making out sense as I'd like, but I think I made some real progress as far as identifying what I'm looking for in a relationship and also, meeting some men who have some of those characteristics.  They do exist.  Now I just need to find the whole package (that's what she said.)  And I also am much less interested in killing time with men I'm not that interested in -- and that's a big step for me, too.  So it was a good summer.  And it's time to start dating, I think.

I know the main reason I'm procrastinating putting up an online profile is because I really don't like most of the pictures of myself that exist.  I'm not trying to be the "Oh I'm so ugleeee" girl, because I think I'm at worst, interesting looking, and sometimes even pretty.  But I don't think I'm photogenic.  Photos tend to illuminate how asymmetrical my face is, and I usually think I look like a stroke victim or the Elephant Man's third cousin. 


Ok, so maybe not that bad, but I'm lopsided.  Anyway, I thought of a solution to this problem of choosing flattering pictures of myself for my online dating profile.  I will post the best of the options to an album on Snapfish, and then, if any of you, dear readers, would like to vote on your favorites, please let me know in the comments section or via personal e-mail.  I will send you the link to the album and you can then tell me which you like best by listing the photo number.  (Note this is only open to readers that I know personally...but I think that is most of you.)  It'll take me a week or so to get organized, but if you're interested in helping me by voting, you can let me know anytime!  YOUR VOTE COUNTS. 

Happy weekend!


Thursday, September 9, 2010

Labor Day-atory

Happy autumn breezes, friends!  Let's catch up.

My long weekend was pretty quiet but nice. Friday and Saturday were full of movies/errands/getting stuff done at home.  I started Mad Men last week and am now through the first two disks of Season 1, and I think I'm sucked in.  I'm not a fanatic yet, but I'm enjoying it.  I also watched Valentine's Day, which...don't.  It's a waste of time, EVEN THOUGH I love the Kutch.  Saturday night I had a few beers at home (I had four in the fridge) and was texting that Steve guy, and then he called we talked on the phone from 1:30 - 4 am. Hi, high school. It was nice and I sort of liked him after that, and we were silly but also talked about serious stuff and he made a point to say that he was going to be honest with me and wasn't going to play me, as he knows I went through some really bad stuff recently and he doesn't want me to ever have to think about that with him, or worry about texting if I haven't heard from him (as in, "I always want to hear from you so don't be shy if you want to talk.") He tells me often that I'm cute, hot, sexy, whatever. I appreciated a lot of what he said and that he is so direct with that kind of conversation, but he seemed ahead of where I was in this thing (and asked me questions that started with "so if i were your boyfriend...") so whatever. I wanted to just hook up with him at that point, honestly (DRY SPELL), but he had to get up at 8 am to take a bus to NJ to see his mom who had surgery recently, so we made a plan that he'd come right to my place on Sunday night when he got back, and we'd go to my neighbor's BBQ (aka his childhood friend) and hang out. It was discussed endlessly. Anyway, I haven't heard from him since. Excellent. I texted on Sunday night to ask if we were still going to get together, and no response at all. I'm just sort of bemused -- like what was the point of declaring all those things if you are then going to space out? It doesn't make sense, but as I'm not really emotionally invested, it's just odd and makes me curious. Whatever, boys.

Sunday was fun, though. I went to Park Slope for a bison burger BBQ in the afternoon, which was yummy and relaxing and very filling.  By like 6 pm, we were all full and tired and so I went home to nap and then did go to my neighbor's for a few hours. The husband told me I was hot again, thankyouverymuch, but the wife also separately told me she loves me, so they're really I love you drunks.

On Monday I met up with Shmannon and Co. to walk the 30th Avenue street fair in Astoria, which was hot and sort of awful, but it was good to see them, then they were all heading to the old beer garden and i wasn't feeling so great so came back and got into bed. And thus began the cold that I still am sniffling through.

Tuesday I came to work in the morning but went home quickly thereafter, as the cold had resided in my brain and I was really foggy and disoriented and feverish, so I went back to bed.  By yesterday my brain had cleared and now I just have a runny nose and cough and stuff, but at least I'm capable of doing my job. Though I don't want to right now, as the bastards all went to lunch WITHOUT INVITING ME.  I'm here all by my lonesome...and I thought we'd passed this hurdle.  Lame.

Last night I made soup in an attempt to use up some of the veggies, especially squash, that are taking over our kitchen.  I'm having it for lunch today, but I tasted it last night and I think it's decent.  I'm going to call it Farmer's Kitchen Sink, I think.  It's got carrots, beets, celery, swiss chard (stems and leaves), zucchini, onions, corn, chicken sausage, chicken broth, and oregano, salt and pepper.  Maybe it'll help my cold, too.

Well, that's about it -- it's been a quiet week with lots of time spent in bed watching Veronica Mars.  I need a new crush as I'm kind of bored in the boy department right now.  (Yes, these things change so quickly.)  Or perhaps I don't...I had about five minutes where I was happy with my current singleness, so perhaps I should nurture that.  TBD.